Curated OER
Complete the Writing Process/“Publish” Final Drafts/Evaluation
High schoolers complete the writing process. They present final drafts of essays that include thesis statements, appropriate paragraphing, elaboration, and style. They participate in a peer editing activity that requires them to use...
Curated OER
Pudd'nhead Wilson: Writing Strategy
Assign this narrative essay after finishing Puddn'head Wilson. Learners write about their own experiences with overcoming obstacles. A five-step process is laid out on this assignment page.
Civil War Trust
Contrasting the North and South before the War
Learners create a standing cube with four panels that display information on the North and South's economy, geography and climate, society, and means of transportation before the Civil War. Through discussion and reading informational...
College Board
2005 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions
Should people only have what they need? Questions from the 2005 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response section asks scholars to write essays evaluating the argument that those who are more fortunate should give all excess...
College Board
2009 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions
Exploration comes at a cost. A set of questions designed for the AP® English Language and Composition exam includes an argumentative prompt about the cost of space exploration. Writers review sources to develop their position before...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Emulating Emily Dickinson: Poetry Writing
High schoolers analyze mood and voice in Emily Dickinson's poem, "There's a Certain Slant of Light." After the analysis, students write a poem of their own emulating the Dickinson poem, and then write a one-page essay describing what...
University of North Carolina
Book Reviews
Reading goes beyond taking in information—it also involves forming impressions about what we read. Sometimes we share those impressions through book reviews, a specific type of writing outlined in a handout on the topic. Using the...
Curated OER
Writing Exercises: Early Peoples
Human prehistory is an exciting topic for many learners! Engage your social studies class in critical thinking by having them answer the three short essay questions on this worksheet. They need to know why prehistoric people migrate, how...
Curated OER
Essay Writing
Young scholars complete essay writing activities. In this essay writing lesson, students use an outline activity to learn about the advantages and disadvantages for various essay writing types. Young scholars also break down the...
Curated OER
How to Write A+ Essays!
This lesson, which promises to improve the essays of your middle schoolers, contains a list of characteristics an essay should include. It breaks it down into the introduction, thesis statement, body, etc. There's also a list of things...
Curated OER
Effective Writing is More Than a Five Paragraph Essay
Groups become experts in one aspect of the six traits of writing, prepare a PowerPoint presentation, jigsaw, and teach others about their trait. Writers then focus on these traits as they compose a persuasive essay about a person they...
Curated OER
Expository Essay Topic: Peer Review
Class members use an expository essay learning exercise to review a peer’s paper. The focus here is on the thesis statement.
Curated OER
Civil War Essay Writing
Young scholars, in groups of three, research a topic about the Civil War. They present thier research to the class in an orally.
Curated OER
Contemporary Civic-life Issue Research Based Essay
Seventh graders write a five paragraph persuasive essay on a contemporary civic-life issue.
Curated OER
Begin the Writing Process
Get ready to write persuasive pieces! Emerging writers select topics, plan arguments, and gather evidence to write persuasive essays. Supportive handouts are provided. The argument chart is particularly helpful, as it includes a space to...
Curated OER
Formal Writing Introduction
Give your class tips on formal writing. A paragraph format is outlined along with specifics for writing a conclusion sentence. A few transitions are listed to vary sentences and sentence structure. Pull this resource back out whenever...
Curated OER
Introducing the Essay: Twain, Douglass, and American Non-Fiction
Young scholars analyze American essayists Mark Twain and Frederick Douglass in an introduction to American literary non-fiction writing. In this essay history lesson, students identify methods for writing essays. Young scholars read and...
Curated OER
Hands on Essays
Third graders relate the concept of individuality of geometric shapes to the individuality of topic sentences. They write and revise a persuasive argument essay using an established rubric.
Curated OER
Worksheet for a Five-Paragraph Essay
In this five paragraph essay worksheet, students complete an outline in which they identify their thesis statement, main points, and supporting details. The worksheet effectively works as an outline for the essay.
Curated OER
Five Paragraph Essay
Students create a standard outline, using a word processing tool, while they are learning about the basic writing device of the 5 paragraph essay.
Scholastic
Super Sentences & Perfect Paragraphs
An extensive collection of lessons and activities includes many writing, grammar, and proofreading exercises. With templates and worksheets that cover several steps in the writing process, from sentence to paragraph to essay, this...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Unit 8: Native Americans
Over five weeks, fifth graders listen to and discuss reading passages that explore the connection between Native Americans and nature. Following daily readings, scholars practice word work, including prefixes, root words, suffixes,...
Curated OER
Outlines and Organization: Sample Outline
Provide your essay writers with a sample essay outline. Richly detailed, this two-page handout not only describes the necessary parts of an outline, but also explains the purpose of each section. A model outline is also included.
Curated OER
Thesis Statements
Develop an understanding of main ideas and thesis statements with your class by using this step-by-step presentation. The concepts presented will guide learners through essay focus, main idea, central points, coherency, and proper...